Chambana Sun

In a Jan. 10 Facebook post, state Rep. Thomas M. Bennett (R-Watseka) announced that he voted against the gun control bill and that he would be joining the Illinois Senate on Jan. 11.

"Last night the Senate voted to pass a gun control bill," Bennett said in the post. "I voted against this bill in the House last Thursday and since today is my last full day as a member of the House, if it should be brought up for a vote in the House again today I will be voting No. Tomorrow I will be sworn in as the new Senator for the 53rd district, where I will continue to stand up for our Second Amendment rights."

Bennett was elected in November to serve the people of the 106th District in Illinois' House of Representatives, but with the resignation of Sen. Jason Barickman, he has been appointed to that senate seat; The News-Gazette said in a report this week. Bennett was in a list of five contenders.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed the amended version of the Protect Illinois Community Act on Jan. 10, a WLS report said this week. The bill went into effect immediately and bans assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and rapid-fire devices.

The amended House Bill 5471 clarifies which high-capacity gun magazines are banned. For long guns, magazines with more than 10 rounds are banned, and magazines with more than 15 rounds are banned for handguns.

On Jan. 6, Bennett issued a statement on his office's website about the passage of the gun control bill.

"I voted No on this bill," he said in the statement. "Illinois already has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the entire nation. Adding even more new laws which take more rights away from law-abiding people is not the solution to our crime problem. There are 2.4 million FOID card holders in the state, a great many of whom will be impacted."